Bronx, N.Y., September 19, 2011 – My friends and loved ones are not buying it, but I’m here to tell you, the 6-4 Yankee win over Minnesota wasn’t just a baseball party on a gorgeous afternoon, capped by a moment for the ages. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 5, 2011 – What began as a quiet September callup rewarding a year of good service, and auditioning for the big club, has dramatically morphed into a debut with all the subtlety of Sherman’s March to the Sea. Joining his new teammates four days ago in a cramped visitors’ clubhouse in Fenway sure not to be too much of a culture shock for a guy plying his trade in the minors, Jesus Montero scored a run in a key Yankee win, and had followed with his first hit, and then his first two-hit game. The “March” leaped forward Monday. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 4, 2011 – Showing no signs of his 128-pitch effort in Boston Tuesday, staff ace CC Sabathia did exactly what he was supposed to Sunday afternoon, dominating the visting Blue Jays into the eighth inning in a 9-3 Yankee win. The fourth-place Jays (with a record good enough for third in four of the other five divisions) reached him for base hits early, but not as often as he was striking them out. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 2, 2011 – Ivan Nova survived a shaky first inning Friday night with a big helping hand from Brett Gardner. Nova was plenty good all by himself going forward from that point, but was so was Toronto’s Brandon Morrow, so it’s a good thing Gardner continued to be in a helpful mood. Brett’s sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot in the home third, equaled an early Blue Jays lead, and the Yankees took sole possession of first place in the AL East with a 3-2 win in Yankee Stadium. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 25, 2011 – It was a day of extremes at Yankee Stadium Thursday afternoon. The skies opened in the morning, making the legions of fans traveling to the park wonder if they were wasting their time. Despite discouraging weather repors, however, the rain slowed, then stopped, although intermittent showers continued through the early hours of the game. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 24, 2011 – Perhaps the most convincing, and simultaneously bizarre, argument supporting Curtis Granderson as the 2011 American League Most Valuable Player is emerging in Yankee Stadium this week. If Curtis doesn’t hit, the Yankees don’t win. Team captain Derek Jeter has gone 6-for-8 over two nights, teammate Nick Swisher has homered three times for five runs, and Robinson Cano has extended the Yankees’ longest 2011 hitting streak to 15 games. Still the team has dropped back-to-back home games to the lowly A’s. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 23, 2011 – The oft-injured A’s righty Brandon McCarthy put on such a mesmerising clinic on throwing strikes in the A’s 6-5 win in Yankee Stadium Monday night that for all intents and purposes it appeared the Yankee offense took the first seven innings off. Of course they did not. In fact, as my scorecard incredulously tells me, McCarthy had just one solitary one-two-three inning through seven-plus (although a base hit, double play grounder also got him through the home fourth facing just three batters as well). Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 13, 2011 – Just when Yankee fans were thinking it was safe to put aside the offense and devote all their attention to the starting rotation, a familiar figure rode into town Saturday and stole the show, driving in six runs in a 9-2 win. The all but gone Jorge Posada took his turn in the lineup as the DH, striding twice to the plate with the bases loaded. All he did was drill a two-run single to give the Yanks the lead in the second on a 1-0 pitch, then lift a grand slam to right to make the game a 7-0 laugher three innings later. He had a single in the fourth as well, but the “underperforming” DH failed to plate a run with that one. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 12, 2011 – With all the building drama in Yankee land about the makeup of the rotation going forward, and A-Rod rehabbing in Florida, Yankee fans in general ignored what to one visitor was a momentous night in Yankee Stadium Friday night. While nigh on 50,000 had their best day of 2011 when Derek Jeter put his 3,000-hit magic show on about five weeks ago, one athlete in the building decidedly did not. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 11, 2011 – The Yanks outhit the visiting Angels in the rubber match of their three-gamer on a glorious Bronx afternoon Wednesday, 10-9, but it had very little to do with the outcome. Each team began their scoring with a two-run home run; each team concluded it with an additional multi-run drive. Five of the nine Angels who stroked hits scored, two more than was the case with the Yankees. Still, the Bombers’ offensive math prevailed in the 6-5 win. Continue reading →